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Warm-up exercise

This post is slightly different to the previous ones you have been reading over here. It deals about creativity indeed, but instead of talking about a given creativity tool it’s rather focused on a warm-up technique to be used as a prior exercise before the team works on the real innovation problem. Honestly I must confess that I do not usually follow this good practice and I normally rush into the problem instead. It’s like doctors, you know, who advice you about stopping drinking and smoking for the sake of your health and later on they do abuse themselves (please do not feel bothered if you are one of them since it is just a joke 🙂 ).

Anyway, this technique is very good to be used before the team starts since it helps your brain to warm up and simultaneously cheers the people up, creating a good atmosphere for achieving a better performance of the team when the real challenge must be confronted. You can find many of these warm-up techniques available either on books or in the Internet, though I’m going to share with you one of my favorite ones (and as far as I remember the first one I learnt during my first creativity course provided by an external consultant several years ago).

What can you see down here?

Yes, you’re right. It is the number three. So far, so good… 🙂 However I’m thinking of something different, since this is a creativity blog and not a maths class. The goal is being able to see beyond the obvious, and prepare you mind to discover hidden meaning on the subject your eyes at looking at. Are you ready for it? Let me write some of the things you may discover out of this element…

half an eight

half the infinity

a moustache

McDonalds

a glasses

a bottom

a woman’s breast

a frog’s eyes

a camel’s back

the letter omega from greek alphabet

a goat’s horns

a spring…

Can you go beyond? I’m sure you can. This game must be used as an introduction and challenges every member of the team to read aloud and share what they see. You can suggest reaching about 50 different meaning to stop the game (50 is possible, believe me, and even more). They all will participate and provide fun meanwhile their brains are stretching and warming up. Every meaning is valid, since the goal is not discussing about the reality beyond the obvious but preparing our minds for the tough exercises that are coming.